Method for producing a formed body using a forming jig

ABSTRACT

A method for producing a formed body including the steps of introducing a fluid material supplied from two or more material supply holes of a rectification plate into a drawing die, homogenizing the flow rate distribution of the fluid material in the drawing die using one or more wires stretched from the material supply holes to near the exit section of the drawing die, and extruding the fluid material from the exit section of the drawing die in which a prescribed forming pattern is formed by two or more wires. The wires form hollow holes through the formed body.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a division of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/839,156,filed May 6, 2004, the entirety of which is incorporated herein byreference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a forming jig and a method forproducing a formed body using the jig.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

As a method for producing a hollow rod-like body having an optional formand one or more hollow holes from ceramics, metals, or carbon, a methodof forming a hollow rod-like body by press molding, cast molding,injection molding, rubber-press method, hot plate press method, or thelike, and sintering the molded object or a method of providing asintered object (rod-like body) with a certain external appearance anddrilling a hollow hole through the sintered object by drill processing,electrical discharge machining, electrochemical processing (ECMprocessing), or the like has been employed.

These methods, however, involve a very complicated process and technicaldifficulty, resulting in poor productivity. This tendency isparticularly conspicuous when narrowing the size of holes or producinghollow holes at a high density.

For this reason, a method of producing a hollow rod-like body (includinga honeycomb structural object) having one or more hollow holes byforming a hollow extrusion material by extrusion molding using a specialdie or a special mouthpiece and sintering the extruded object has beenmainly employed in recent years.

This method was successful in greatly improving productivity andoptionally selecting the form and number of hollow holes by using a die.

However, since a material with a comparatively low viscosity is used inthis method, the hollow holes are easily collapsed after extrusionmolding. It has been difficult to constantly maintain a good quality. Inparticular, to produce a hollow rod-like body (including a honeycombstructural object) having fine hollow holes at a high density has beendifficult due to the structure of dies. An additional problem has been ahigh production cost due to easily worn-out and very expensive dies.

To overcome the above problems, a method for producing a cellularhoneycomb has been proposed. The method described in Published JapaneseTranslation of PCT Publication (WO 99/32777) for Patent Application No.2001-526129, for example, comprises providing a cellular structureobject (honeycomb structure object) containing two or more parallelchannels having a predetermined section, filling the channels with afiller, and remodeling the cellular honeycomb structure by narrowingwith a taper.

A method for producing a hollow rod-like body with a porous structurehas been proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.2001-247372, for example. The method comprises producing thin hollowrods of ceramic of which the hollow space is packed with a filler,bundling a plurality of such hollow rods and remodelling the bundledrods to form a bundle (optionally, again bundling the formed bundles andremodeling the rebundled objects), and extruding the bundle using a dieand a plunger.

Another method that has been proposed by, for example, Japanese PatentApplication Laid-Open No. 6-264105, produces a body to be sinteredhaving a helical hole inside the section and a twist groove in the outercircumference. The method comprises extruding a kneaded plastic materialfrom an extruder and causing the extruded material to pass through atorsion-imparting device and then through a metal die to obtain the bodyto be sintered.

The method of Published Japanese Translation of PCT Publication (WO99/32277) for Patent Application No. 2001-526129 requires a step ofpacking and removing the filler after preparing a cellular structuralobject (honeycomb structural object), giving rise to an increase in themanufacturing cost for the filler and the die for the honeycombstructural object.

The method of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-247372 hasa problem of difficulty in producing rod-like bodies with fine linearholes for fabricating the hollow rod-like body with a porous structure.The method also requires a complicated procedure for remodeling andcannot produce cells at a high density.

The method of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-264105 canproduce a hollow structure by extrusion molding, but can neither produceholes at a high density nor arrange the holes in a desired pattern. Anadditional problem with this method is a high mandrel production cost.

The present invention has been completed in view of the problems in theprior art mentioned above and has an object of providing a forming jigwhich can easily and inexpensively design or change the design of aforming pattern of hollow holes and the external configuration of aformed body, and can form fine hollow holes at a high density, and amethod for producing a formed body using the jig.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Specifically, the present invention provides a forming jig comprising arectification plate having two or more material supply holes, a drawingdie installed below the rectification plate to define the externalconfiguration of the formed body produced from a material, and afloating die in which one or more wires float vertically in the drawingdie floating and stretch the exit section of the drawing die to form ahollow hole forming pattern.

In the above-described forming jig, the floating die is preferablyinstalled on the upstream side or downstream side of the rectificationplate and has one or more wires secured thereto.

It is desirable that the drawing die used in the present inventionsatisfy any one of the conditions (1)-(3):

(1) a tapered internal configuration,

(2) a freely variable exit section, and

(3) a cover-forming passage for forming an outer (peripheral) wall.

It is desirable that the floating die used in the present inventionexcel in wear resistance, can be flexibly deformed in accordance with aflow of the material, and exhibit almost no deformation in the exitsection.

The floating die of the present invention is preferably connected withtwo or more wires on the upstream and downstream sides of therectification plate and secured by welding or using an adhesive or afixing jig. In addition, the floating die used in the present inventionis preferably formed from wires having rigidities corresponding to theflowability of the material and/or the forming pattern.

The present invention further provides a method for producing a formedbody comprising introducing a fluid material supplied from two or morematerial supply holes of a rectification plate into a drawing die,homogenizing the flow rate distribution of the fluid material in thedrawing die using one or more wires stretched from the material supplyholes to near the exit section of the drawing die, and extruding thefluid material from the exit section of the drawing die in which aprescribed forming pattern is formed by two or more wires, therebycausing the one or more wires to form hollow holes through the formedbody.

It is desirable that the method for forming a formed body of the presentinvention satisfy any one of the following conditions (1)-(4).

(1) The drawing die has a tapered shape to control the flow ratedistribution or slow down the flow rate of the fluid material, therebystabilizing the forming pattern.

(2) The exit section of the drawing die is freely variable to change theexternal configuration and size of the formed body and hollow holes.

(3) The drawing die is provided with a cover-forming passage for formingan outer (peripheral) wall on the outermost (peripheral) side thereof toproduce a formed body with an outer (peripheral) wall.

(4) The formed body is a laminate comprising multiple layers, each layerbeing formed from a fluid material different from that of adjacentlayers, wherein a fluid material corresponding to each layer isintroduced into each material supply hole in the rectification plate.

The formed body produced by the above method is preferably a hollowrod-like body with fine linear holes.

The hollow rod-like body with fine linear holes preferably has across-sectional dimension, in terms of diameter, of 0.1-1,000 mm. Inaddition, the rod-like body with fine linear holes preferably has ahollow hole density of 0.000001-100,000 holes/mm².

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing anembodiment of the forming jig of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 3( a) to 3(d) are cross-sectional views showing major points ofthe forming jig of FIG. 1, wherein FIG. 3( a) is a cross-sectional viewshowing main parts along the line A-A, FIG. 3( b) is a cross-sectionalview showing main parts along the line B-B, FIG. 3( c) is across-sectional view showing main parts along the line C-C, and FIG. 3(d) is a cross-sectional view showing main parts along the line D-D.

FIG. 4 is another longitudinal sectional view schematically showing anembodiment of the forming jig of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is still another longitudinal sectional view schematicallyshowing an embodiment of the forming jig of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is yet another longitudinal sectional view schematically showingan embodiment of the forming jig of the present invention.

FIGS. 7( a)-(b) show an embodiment of the method for producing theformed body (with an outer (peripheral) wall) of the present invention,wherein FIG. 7( a) is a schematic longitudinal sectional view and FIG.7( b) shows a sectional view of a main part of the formed body with anouter (peripheral) wall.

FIGS. 8( a)-(b) show another embodiment of the method for producing theformed body (multi-layer extrusion) of the present invention, whereinFIG. 8( a) is a schematic longitudinal sectional view and FIG. 8( b)shows a sectional view of a main part of the formed laminated body.

FIGS. 9( a)-(b) show still another embodiment of the method forproducing the formed body (multi-layer extrusion) of the presentinvention, wherein FIG. 9( a) is a schematic longitudinal sectional viewand FIG. 9( b) shows a sectional view of a main part of the formedlaminated body.

FIGS. 10( a)-(c) show a further embodiment of the method for producingthe formed body (using a variable drawing die) of the present invention,wherein FIG. 10( a) is a schematic longitudinal sectional view undernormal conditions, FIG. 10( b) shows a schematic longitudinal sectionalview under the conditions in which the variable drawing die is expandedto either side, and FIG. 10( c) shows a longitudinal sectional view ofthe resulting formed body.

FIGS. 11( a)-(c) show a further embodiment of the method for producingthe formed body (using a variable drawing die and a variable floatingdie) of the present invention, wherein FIG. 11( a) is a schematiclongitudinal sectional view under normal conditions, FIG. 11( b) shows aschematic longitudinal sectional view under the conditions in which thevariable drawing die and variable floating die are expanded to eitherside, and FIG. 11( c) shows a longitudinal sectional view of theresulting formed body.

FIGS. 12( a)-(c) are schematic front views showing examples of therectification plate used in the present invention.

FIGS. 13( a)-(b) show an embodiment of the rectification plate (with adiffuser) used in the present invention viewed from the back, whereinFIG. 13( a) is a schematic longitudinal sectional view and FIG. 13( b)shows a sectional view of the main part of the formed laminated body.

FIGS. 14( a)-(b) show another embodiment of the rectification plate(without a diffuser) used in the present invention viewed from the back,wherein FIG. 14( a) is a schematic longitudinal sectional view and FIG.14( b) shows a sectional view of the main part of the formed laminatedbody.

FIGS. 15( a)-(d) are longitudinal sectional views of examples of theunique shape wire used in the present invention, wherein FIG. 15( a)shows the manner in which the uniquely shaped part is attached, FIG. 15(b) shows a right-angled uniquely shaped part, FIG. 15( c) a cone-typeuniquely shaped part, and FIG. 15( d) a low head-type uniquely shapedpart.

FIGS. 16( a)-(c) show an embodiment of the floating die used in thepresent invention, wherein FIG. 16( a) is a schematic longitudinalsectional view, FIG. 16( b) shows a front view of the exit, and FIG. 16(c) is a sectional view of the main part of the formed body.

FIG. 17 is a sectional view of the main part of the formed body obtainedin the example.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The forming jig of the present invention comprises a rectification platehaving two or more material supply holes, a drawing die installed belowthe rectification plate to define the external configuration of theformed body produced from a material, and a floating die in which one ormore wires float vertically in the drawing die floating and stretch fromthe exit section of the drawing die to form a hollow hole formingpattern.

In the above-described forming jig, the floating die is preferablyinstalled on the upstream side or downstream side of the rectificationplate and has one or more wires secured thereto.

The method for producing a formed body using the above-described formingjig comprises introducing a fluid material supplied from two or morematerial supply holes of a rectification plate into a drawing die,homogenizing the flow rate distribution of the fluid material in thedrawing die using two or more wires stretched from the material supplyholes to near the exit section of the drawing die, and extruding thefluid material from the exit section of the drawing die in which aprescribed forming pattern is formed by two or more wires, therebycausing the one or more wires to form hollow holes through the formedbody.

Due to the above-described constitution, the forming jig of the presentinvention can easily and inexpensively design or change the design of aforming pattern of hollow holes and the external configuration of theformed body without requiring a precision process using a conventionaldie or mouth ring. Furthermore, since the floating die and the drawingdie are basically formed from separate and independent members, thesedies can be maintained more easily and inexpensively than conventionaldies or mouthpieces when worn out due to fluid materials.

In addition, since the flow rate distribution of the fluid material inthe drawing die can be homogenized by one or more wires stretched fromthe material supply holes to near the exit section of the drawing die,not only can quality and precision of the formed body be improved, butalso fluctuation of the quality of the formed bodies can be minimized(or the yield of the products can be increased).

Moreover, since hollow holes in the formed body are produced by wires inthe forming jig of the present invention, a rod-like body with finelinear hollow holes or a formed body with fine hollow holes at a highdensity can be produced easily and inexpensively without requiringcomplicated steps as in conventional methods (see, for example,Published Japanese Translation of PCT Publication (WO 99/32277) forPatent Application No. 2001-526129 and Japanese Patent ApplicationLaid-Open No. 2001-247372).

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detailreferring to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing anembodiment of the forming jig of the present invention. FIG. 2 is aschematic front view of FIG. 1. FIG. 3( a) to 3(d) are cross-sectionalviews showing major points of the forming jig of FIG. 1, wherein FIG. 3(a) is a cross-sectional view showing main parts along the line A-A, FIG.3( b) is a cross-sectional view showing main parts along the line B-B,FIG. 3( c) is a cross-sectional view showing main parts along the lineC-C, and FIG. 3( d) is a cross-sectional view showing main parts alongthe line D-D.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the basic configuration of the formingjig of the present invention comprises a rectification plate 4 havingtwo or more material supply holes 2, a drawing die 5 installed below therectification plate 4 to specify the external configuration of theformed body 20 produced from the material, and a floating die 10 inwhich two or more wires 8 (seven in FIG. 2) float vertically in spaces 7in the drawing die (forming pattern passages) and stretch from the exitsection 6 of the drawing die 5 to form a hollow hole forming pattern.

As shown in FIG. 1, when a formed body 20 is manufactured using theforming jig, a fluid material supplied from two or more material supplyholes 2 of the rectification plate 4 is introduced into the spaces 7 inthe drawing die. Two or more wires 8 (seven in FIG. 1) stretch from thematerial supply holes 2 to near the exit of the drawing die tohomogenize the flow rate distribution of the fluid material and, at thesame time, make the pressure applied to the wires 8 even. Thisconfiguration can reduce the cross-sectional area of the fluid whileretaining the similarity of the figure from the upstream side to thedownstream side of the tapered inner space 7 of the drawing die as shownin FIGS. 3( a) to 3(c). The fluid material is extruded from the exitsection 6 of the drawing die having a predetermined forming pattern,whereby a (cylindrical) formed body 20 having hollow holes 22 (seven inFIG. 3), as shown in FIG. 3( d), can be formed.

In this instance, the manufacturing method of the formed body of thepresent invention may be varied according to the properties of the fluidmaterial and the configuration of the formed body. For example, theforming pattern may be varied by greatly narrowing the exit section ofthe drawing die 5 as compared with the entrance section 3, therebysharply increasing the pressure of the fluid material, as shown in FIG.4. It is also possible to control the flow rate distribution of thefluid by changing the taper angle θ as shown in FIG. 5. Alternatively,it is possible to stabilize the forming pattern by expanding thedistance t from the exit to the entrance of the drawing die and therebyslowing down the flow rate of the fluid as shown in FIG. 6.

In the method for manufacturing the formed body of the presentinvention, a drawing die 13 provided with a cover-forming passage 12around the pattern forming passage as shown in FIG. 7( a), for example,is used to obtain a formed body 30 (a cylinder in FIG. 7( b)) having acover 34 (outer (peripheral) wall) with a prescribed thickness outsidethe forming pattern section 33 in which hollow holes 32 (seven in FIG.7( b)) are formed.

In this instance, if the extrusion rate in the cover-forming passage 12differs from the extrusion rate in the pattern forming passage 7 duringextrusion molding of the fluid material, distortion and deficits may beproduced in the outer cover 34 and the hollow hole 32 of the formed body30 produced by extrusion. For this reason, the fluid material issupplied separately to the cover-forming passage 12 and the patternforming passage 7 as shown in FIG. 7( a). At the same time, a controlplate 14 to control the balance between the amount of the materialsupplied to the cover-forming passage 12 and the amount of the materialsupplied to the pattern-forming passage 7 is installed on the upstreamside of the rectification plate 4, whereby the cover 34 (outer(peripheral) wall) and the forming pattern section 33 are optimized.

The fluid material A for the forming pattern section 33 and the fluidmaterial B for the cover 34 (outer (peripheral) wall), shown in FIG. 7(a), may be either the same material or different materials.

In addition, in the method for manufacturing the formed body of thepresent invention, as shown in FIG. 8( a), for example, the fluidmaterials A-C for each layer to be supplied to the material supply holes2 in the rectification plate 4 may be distributed by the control plate14 to obtain a laminate 40 (a hexagonal prism in FIG. 8( b)) consistingof two or more layers (three layers in FIG. 8( b)) from differentmaterials and having a plurality of hollow holes 42 as shown in FIG. 8(b).

In this instance, the control plate 14 not only prevents dislocation ofthe interface of each layer in the laminate, but also prevents thesurface of the formed laminated body from becoming wrinkled ordistorted. For this reason, the fluid materials to be supplied to eachmaterial passage 2 are preferably separated by a material distributor 15and the forming jig is preferably optimized to balance the amount of thematerial to be supplied to each material passage 2.

When a formed laminated body 50 (a quadratic prism in FIG. 9( b)) havinghollow holes 52 located along the interface 54 of each layer (two layersin FIG. 9( b)) is desired, such a product can be obtained by installinga floating wire 8 on the interface and closing the material supply holes2 by the control plate 14 as shown in FIG. 9( a).

In addition, according to the method for fabricating a formed body ofthe present invention, it is possible to obtain a formed body 60 with adeformed external configuration and hollow holes 62 as shown in FIG. 10(c) by, for example, extruding a raw material first in the manner asshown in FIG. 10( a) and then, at an arbitrary point of time, varyingthe exit section 6 of the drawing die 19 to either sides as shown inFIG. 10( b).

At this time, a formed body 70 with a further unique configuration (seeFIG. 11( c)) can be obtained by varying not only the exit section 6 ofthe drawing die 19, but also the positions of floating-type movablewires 18 as shown in FIGS. 11( a), 11(b), and 11(c).

The forming jig and the method for producing a formed body using the jigcan be particularly suitably used for extrusion molding of a cylindricalobject with holes in the form of fine straight lines formed at a highdensity (rod-like body with fine linear holes), for example, a bodyhaving an external configuration with a cross-sectional dimension interms of the diameter of 0.1-1,000 mm, hollow holes with across-sectional size in terms of the diameter of 0.001-990 mm, and ahollow hole density of 0.000001-100,000 holes/mm².

Major components of the forming jig of the present invention will now beexplained in detail.

The drawing die used in the present invention defines the externalconfiguration (outline) of the formed body. There are no specificlimitations to the cross-sectional shape of the drawing die. A circle,square, triangle, hexagon, star, or (complicated) variant form can beappropriately selected according to the application, for example.

The drawing die used in the present invention preferably has a taperedinternal shape to control the flow rate distribution or slow down theflow rate of the fluid material during extrusion molding, therebystabilizing the forming pattern.

Since the drawing die used in the present invention has a freelyvariable exit section that can change the dimension (external andinternal dimensions) of the formed body, one extrusion unit can formvarious formed bodies conforming to applications.

The drawing die used in the present invention may have a cover-formingpassage to form an outer peripheral wall. Either an integral type asshown in FIG. 7( a) or a type provided with a separate cover-formingpassage which can be combined with a common drawing die can be used.

The floating die used in the present invention has one or more wiresfloating vertically in the drawing die and stretching from the exitsection of the drawing die to form a hollow hole forming pattern. Thisis installed on the upstream side (FIGS. 1 and 2) or the downstream side(FIGS. 4-6) of the rectification plate.

A floating die excelling in wear resistance, being flexibly deformed inaccordance with a flow of the material, and exhibiting almost nodeformation in the exit section is preferably used in the presentinvention (see FIG. 1).

In addition, the floating die used in the present invention ispreferably formed from wires having rigidities corresponding to theflowability of the material and/or the forming pattern.

For example, it is possible to control escape of a fluid material fromnear the internal surface of the drawing die by providing the wire nearthe internal surface of the drawing die with a high rigidity. Theexternal configuration of the resulting formed body can be excellentlymaintained in this manner.

The floating die used in the present invention is preferably connectedwith two or more wires 9 on the upstream and downstream sides of therectification plate and secured by welding or using an adhesive or afixing jig. The floating die may be combined with a partly variablefloating die (see FIG. 11( a)(b)(c)).

The rectification plate used in the present invention has two or morematerial supply holes which divide the drawing die into spaces(passages) or control the flow of a part of the fluid materials in thepassages. The configuration of the rectification plate includes, but isnot limited to, a multi-hole structure in which the holes in the shapeof a rectangle, hexagon, or circle are arranged (see FIG. 12( a)), aunique-hole structure (see FIG. 12( b)), and a mesh structure (see FIG.12( c)). An appropriate type is selected from these types.

The rectification plate used in the present invention may be providedwith a diffuser 56 on the downstream side as shown in FIG. 13( a) toclearly control the boundaries 55 of the layers (A-C) during multi-layerextrusion forming (see FIG. 13( b)) as compared with the rectificationplate without a diffuser (see FIGS. 14( a) and 14(b)).

In addition, the rectification plate of the present invention is usuallyused in combination with a control plate to respond to various flowpatterns.

The wire used in the present invention guides the fluid material in thedirection in which the wires are projecting and controls the fluidity ofthe material in the same direction, thereby determining the shape ofhollow holes during extrusion forming.

There are no specific limitations to the configuration of the wiresused. Beside common-type wires, a wire with a uniquely shaped part onthe tip (unique shape wire) and a type suspending a uniquely shaped bodyusing two or more wires (a floating die) can be used.

The unique shape wire used in the present invention may comprise auniquely shaped component 82 attached to the tip of the wire base 81with a clasp 83 as shown, for example, in FIG. 15( a). Since theuniquely shaped component 82 may have an optional cross-sectionalconfiguration as shown in FIGS. 15( b) to 15(d), not only is it possibleto easily modify the floating die and to coat the floating die forproviding wear resistance, but also it is possible to determinepositions by adjusting a surrounding flowability.

A hard material (including a superhard alloy) is preferably used as theuniquely shaped component 82 in view of wear resistance.

In the present invention, the thickness of the floating die can bereduced as shown in FIGS. 16( a), 16(b), and 16(c), for example. Notonly can the molding pressure loss be reduced, but also the length ofwires 8 can be adjusted using clamps 84, whereby it is possible toadjust the fluidity balance.

Moreover, the floating dies 86 and 88 used in the present invention maybe worked into any optional form by laser beams or wire discharges,formed from a wear resistant material or ultrahard alloy, or providedwith coating for ease of maintenance by washing and the like.

The cross-sectional configuration of the wire used in the presentinvention may be appropriately selected in accordance with theapplication from a circle, square, triangle, hexagon, star, and variantforms.

Although there are no specific limitations to the material of the wireused in the present invention inasmuch as the material has excellentwear resistance and provides the wire with an appropriate rigidity, thematerial is preferably nylon 66.

EXAMPLES

The present invention is described below in more detail by examples.However, the present invention is not limited to the following examples.

10 parts by weight of methylcellulose as a binder was added to 100 partsby weight of alumina particles with an average particle diameter of 10μm. The mixture was kneaded using a kneader to produce a clay mixture.

A rectification plate with 127 holes, each having a diameter of 1.0 mm,arranged in the shape of a hexagon on a SUS plate with a diameter of 20mm was placed on a drawing die having a tapered exit in the shape of anozzle with a diameter of 2.0 mm.

A floating die with 19 wires made of nylon 66, each having a diameter of0.2 mm, arranged in the shape of a hexagon was installed on therectification plate with the wires being drawn out to the exit of thedrawing die.

After installing a cylinder in front of the rectification plate, theclay mixture was charged into the cylinder. The clay mixture wasextruded at a rate of 10 mm/sec using a piston, while cutting theextruded product to a length about 100 mm. The extruded material wasdried in a dryer at a temperature of 120° C. for 10 minutes to obtain aformed body (a dry body) having an external diameter of 2.1 mm and 19holes with a diameter of 0.2 mm (see FIG. 17).

The formed body was heated to 200° C. in one hour, maintained at 200° C.for one hour, heated to 300° C. in one hour, heated to 1,600° C. in sixhours, and sintered at 1,600° C. for two hours. The sintered body wasallowed to cool to room temperature.

Both end surfaces of the resulting sintered body was finished with afile and polish wastes were removed to obtain a complete body.

The obtained complete body was cut in every 5 mm interval to observe thecross-section to confirm that all holes were intact with neitheradhesion to adjacent holes nor clogging.

As discussed above, the forming jig and the method for producing aformed body using the jig of the present invention can easily andinexpensively design or change the design of a forming pattern of hollowholes and the external configuration of the formed body, and can formfine hollow holes at a high density.

The forming jig and the method for producing a formed body using the jigof the present invention can achieve a great contribution to a widespectrum of applications such as a column for chromatograph, ceramicfilter, high speed heat exchanger, small reactor, metal compositematerial, cell structure object for fuel cells, separator, ink-jetnozzle, ceramic die, spinning die, burner nozzle, multi-channel liquidfeed passage, lightweight ceramic component, heat insulating ceramicmaterial, optical connector ferrule, and kitchen instrument such aspasta extruder.

1. A method for producing a formed body comprising: introducing a fluidmaterial supplied from two or more material supply holes of arectification plate into a drawing die; homogenizing the flow ratedistribution of the fluid material in the drawing die using one or morewires that float freely within and through one or more material supplyholes of the rectification plate, respectively, and extend from thematerial supply holes to a location near an exit section of the drawingdie; and extruding the fluid material from all of said material supplyholes to the exit section of the drawing die in which a prescribedforming pattern is formed by one or more wires, thereby causing the oneor more wires to form hollow holes through the formed body.
 2. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein the drawing die has a tapered shapeto control the flow rate distribution or slow down the flow rate of thefluid material, thereby stabilizing the forming pattern.
 3. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the exit section of the drawing die isfreely variable to change the external configuration and size of theformed body and hollow holes.
 4. The method according to claim 1,wherein the drawing die is provided with a cover-forming passage forforming an outer peripheral wall on the outermost peripheral sidethereof, whereby the resulting formed body has an outer peripheral wall.5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the formed body is alaminate comprising multiple layers, each layer being formed from afluid material different from that of adjacent layers, the methodcomprising introducing a fluid material corresponding to each layer intoeach material supply hole in the rectification plate.
 6. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein an external cross-sectional shape of theformed body is defined by a shape of the exit section of the drawingdie, and an interior of the formed body includes fine linear holes. 7.The method according to claim 6, wherein the formed body has across-sectional dimension, in terms of diameter, of 0.1-1,000 mm.
 8. Themethod according to claim 6, wherein the fine linear holes are hollowholes with a cross-sectional dimension, in terms of diameter, of0.001-990 mm.
 9. The method according to claim 6, wherein the holedensity of the fine linear holes is 0.000001-100,000 holes/mm².